


Antique Love

by tardis19



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-29
Updated: 2016-09-29
Packaged: 2018-08-18 14:08:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8164619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tardis19/pseuds/tardis19
Summary: Edward Cullen is a shy, antique store owner with a problem. Someone thinks he has something that doesn't belong to him, and they are willing to do whatever it takes to get it. With the help of Port Angeles detective, Bella Swan, can they solve the case and find love? Rated M for violence, language, and other stuff.





	1. Chapter 1

BELLA

"Swan! In my office now!" Captain Banner hollered, and I muttered a quiet oath under my breath as I shoved my chair away from the desk and slowly walked to the Captain's office.

Banner had been an ass to everyone in the precinct for the past week, and the rumor floating around was that his wife of twenty-eight years was fed up with him and had filed for divorce. If that was the case, then I was sorry to hear it, but he shouldn't be taking it out on his employees. I certainly didn't deserve the attitude that he'd been giving me, and it was getting increasingly difficult for me to keep my mouth shut.

"Stay calm, Swan," one of my co-workers advised, and I nodded my head before taking a deep breath. The last thing I wanted, or needed, was to get written up for insubordination and end up with a mark on my pristine record.

Pausing for a moment outside the door, I took another deep breath before knocking. Banner's deep voice told me to come in, so I opened the door and walked into his office and found a giant bear of a guy with dark hair, standing near the windows.

I knew, without a doubt, the guy was going to be my partner. I'd been through four of them in the eight months since I'd made detective. My last partner had moved to Florida to be with some girl he'd met on the Internet, two of them had refused to work with a female partner, and the other one had just been an asshole.

Banner motioned for me to take a seat, so I did, watching as the giant man turned around and flashed me a grin.

"Swan, this is Emmett McCarty. He's your new partner. Try not to drive this one away," Captain Banner said in a tired voice, and my fists clenched as I bit back the comments that wanted to leave my mouth.

"Yes, sir," I replied in a curt tone as I made my way toward his office door. I just barely refrained from slamming it shut.

"Charming guy," McCarty said dryly once the door was closed, and we walked toward the bullpen that housed all of our desks.

"Yeah, he's a fucking peach," I replied as I led McCarty over to our two desks that were in the corner. One was covered in post-it notes, packs of gum, random pieces of paper, and more pens than necessary while the other was clean and empty.

Pointing toward it, I told McCarty that was his desk as I took a seat back at my messy desk and began to sort through the files sitting on it.

"Thanks," he said with a slight Southern accent, and I nodded my head.

Twenty minutes of silence went by before we got a call out to a robbery in progress. I grabbed my coat, my phone, and the car keys, barely making sure to see if McCarty was following me. I was used to being on my own and doing things my own way, so it was up to him to catch up with me.

"We've got a 211 on Cherry Street," I told him as we got into the black 2007 Dodge Charger that had been issued to me.

"Is the suspect armed?" he asked, and I nodded my head as I pulled the car out of the lot and onto the road.

I always hated the awkwardness that came with getting a new partner, and I really hated going into a potentially dangerous situation with someone I didn't know. I'd have his back no matter what, and I could only hope he'd have mine if things went badly.

Less than ten minutes later, we were pulling up in front of a small new age bookstore with lots of dreamcatchers and crystals adorning the display window.

"Ready?" I asked McCarty who nodded yes.

With weapons at the ready, we slowly and carefully approached the building, announcing ourselves as we went in.

The place had been ransacked, and there were books and what looked like rocks tossed all over the floor.

We both stopped when we heard a noise from behind the counter. I looked over at McCarty who nodded, and we both moved quietly toward the noise.

"Ma'am?" McCarty asked as he knelt down next to a woman who was huddled under the counter. "Are you okay?"

The woman nodded before telling us that the man who had robbed her had run out the back, but he was long gone by the time I checked it out.

"It was James Tracker," I heard the woman tell McCarty, and I heaved a sigh. That kid was always in trouble with the law for some reason or another.

"You know him?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Yep, and you're about to," I told him.

We finished up with the woman, called it in, and I had a police officer take her down to the station to file a formal complaint. The crime scene unit came in, and that's when we left to go take a ride to Tracker's house.

"Tell me about this guy."

"He's an idiot kid who has a history of burglary, but this is the first time I've heard of him committing a robbery or having a weapon. Usually, he just steals stuff to pawn so that he can pay for his weed."

I told McCarty a bit more about James as we drove across town, and I muttered fuck when I noticed the beat up truck in the drive. It meant that James' dad, Gerald, was home, and he was a nasty son of a bitch who hated women as well as cops. Needless to say, I wasn't his favorite person.

"Get ready for some nastiness," I warned McCarty as we got out of the car and made our way up to the front door.

McCarty knocked hard on the door, and a few minutes later, an extremely drunk Gerald opened the door, swearing up a storm when he noticed me.

"What the fuck do you want?" he snarled.

"We need to talk to James," I told him, my hand on the butt of my gun that was residing in my holster. I didn't trust Gerald, and I'd been on the receiving end of his attitude and his fist more than once.

"He didn't fucking do nothing! You just have it out for my boy!" he shouted, stumbling a bit as he made his way out onto the porch.

"Where is he?" I asked again, secretly glad that McCarty was between Gerald and me.

"I don't fucking know, you stupid bitch," he slurred, slumping a bit against the railing.

I looked at the man with disgust. He was a pathetic drunk, and he probably didn't know where James was. Hell, the man probably didn't know where he himself was.

"Let's go," I told McCarty, watching as Gerald attempted to make his way back inside, mumbling about fucking cop bitches.

"Is he always like that?" McCarty asked me, and I nodded my head.

We spent the next two hours driving around town, hitting up all of James' usual haunts, but he was in the wind for the moment. An All-Points Bulletin had been put out on his car, and now it was a waiting game.

As we were leaving the IGA where James tended to hang out on the corner, McCarty's stomach let out a large rumble, and I snorted out a laugh.

"How about some lunch, yeah?" I asked him, and he nodded, a sheepish grin on his face.

Minutes later, I parked the car in a spot in front of Lucy's Diner. The place had been around since the fifties, and they had the best pie in the state of Washington.

As we ate lunch, I learned a lot about McCarty, who told me to call him Emmett. He was thirty-four, married, had two kids, and had moved out here from Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

"So, what brought you to Washington?" I asked between bites of my BLT.

"My wife, Rose, is from the area, "he told me. "Her father is sick, so she wanted to come home to be close to him."

I asked him where in the area she was from, and he told me she was from a small town called Forks.

I set down my sandwich as I looked at him. Forks wasn't that big of a town, and I'd gone to high school with a girl named Rosalie who had been a couple of years ahead of me. She'd been one of the popular girls, but she'd been nice to me, unlike some of the others.

"Is your wife's maiden name, Hale?"

He nodded before asking me how I knew that. I explained that I'd grown up in Forks and had gone to high school with Rosalie.

Over our lunch, we talked about why we became cops, and I mentioned that my dad was the Chief of Police in Forks.

"After I graduated from college and the academy, I decided I wanted to work in a town that was a little bit bigger than Forks but not as large as Seattle. Besides, I wouldn't want to work for my dad. Not that he's a bad guy, but it would be so weird," I told him, and he nodded in understanding.

And speaking of the devil, my phone rang with my dad's number showing up.

"Hey, Dad," I answered.

"Hey, Bells. So, I think I have someone that you're looking for," he told me, and I grinned as he told me that he'd busted James speeding through Forks.

"Awesome! We'll be down to get him."

"Finish eating," I told Emmett. "My dad's got James in custody."

"Nice," he mumbled through a mouthful of food.

By the end of the day, I was more than ready to just go home, curl up on my couch with my cat, Gallifrey, and watch some Netflix.

We'd taken James into custody which had led to Emmett being bitten by the asshole, and after dropping off James at booking, I'd had to take Emmett to the hospital for a tetanus shot and then back to the station to file assault charges against James. Needless to say, it had been one hell of a day for both of us.

"See ya tomorrow, McCarty," I hollered out my rolled down window as I backed my car out of the parking lot of the precinct. He gave me a wave as he climbed into his car, and I decided that I quite liked the guy. He wasn't nearly as douchey as my last partner had been nor was he as condescending.

As I drove through downtown toward the small house that I rented, I noticed that one of the empty storefronts had a new sign, Cullen Antiques, and there was stuff in the display window. Probably some old guy who'd decided to retire here and sell old stuff to old people. I didn't get the appeal of antiques, but my stepmother, Sue, loved to collect them, or whatever it was she did with them. It drove my dad nuts, especially when she forced him to go on antique hunting trips with her across the country.

A few minutes later, I was pulling into the small, slightly rundown house that was mine. Well, sort of mine. I was saving up money to buy a really nice house, so until then, the rented small blue house would have to do.

I'd just hung up my coat and put my gun in the lockbox in the closet when a small furry body rubbed itself against my leg.

Leaning down, I picked up the tabby cat that I'd rescued three years earlier and carried him into the kitchen to fill up his food bowl.

"Well, Gallifrey, what should I have for dinner?" I asked him as I opened up both the fridge and freezer doors.

I groaned when I realized that my fridge was pretty much empty, and my freezer wasn't much better. Closing the doors, I grabbed a handful of takeout menus from one of the kitchen drawers and tossed them on the counter.

Sighing at how pathetic it was that I owned more takeout menus than actual food, I grabbed the menu for Chinese and made my way toward the living room.

Plopping down on the couch, I pulled out my phone, placed my order, and then gave Sue a call.

We chatted for a few minutes before I told her that I'd seen a new antique store here in Port Angeles, and she let out a delighted gasp.

"Really? Oh, that's fantastic news! Mrs. Johnson is retiring and moving to Florida next month, and she had the only halfway decent antique store nearby. I really hope the new place is better than Shelley's Attic. That place is a disaster, and everything is so overpriced."

"Well, I don't know if it's open yet, but it's called Cullen Antiques, and it's on the corner of Main and Burberry."

I let out a small laugh when Sue held the phone away and yelled to Dad that they needed to make a trip to Port Angeles to check out the new antique store. Seconds later, Dad was on the phone.

"Really, Bells? Really? You just had to let her know there was a new antique place in town?"

I let out a snicker at his affronted tone of voice.

"Sorry, Dad. I'm sure she would have found out eventually."

"Uh huh. I'm sure you are. Well, I have an idea. Why don't we go see it one of these mornings? All of us," he said, and I barely held back a groan. The man knew how much I hated shopping, and this was his way of getting revenge.

"Well played, old man," I muttered over the phone. "Well played."

Reluctantly, I agreed, and we decided that we'd meet up for breakfast at Lucy's on Saturday morning.

...............................................

"Good morning, Bella," Lucy said as she poured some coffee into the mug that was in front of me.

I grunted a reply back to her, scowling across the table at my dad. This was entirely his fault, but he just shot me a smirk as he took a sip from his cup.

"So, I called Cullen Antiques to make sure they were open for business, and they are," Sue told us after we'd placed our orders. "I just hope it's not filled to the brim with crap like Shelly's place."

As I ate my blueberry waffles, I vaguely listened to Sue as she told me all about some snuff boxes that she was looking for as well as rare books and some vases. I just nodded my head and grinned when I saw Dad doing the same. I'd already endured a short lecture on what snuff boxes were just the previous week, and I knew better than to ask any questions.

"You're not fooling anyone, you two," Sue said, and we both mumbled apologies. She waved us off and then kept talking about all the stuff she was looking for.

"Shall we go?" she asked a half hour later, and Dad and I reluctantly nodded.

It didn't take long before I was pulling into a parking space beside Sue's car in front of the antique store.

Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing myself for the hell that I was pretty sure I was about to endure, I got out of my car and followed Sue and Dad into the store.

"God, I hope to hell she doesn't find anything she wants," Dad muttered to me, but I knew he was kidding. He loved Sue to death and couldn't care less if she spent a small fortune on her antiques. Plus, I knew for a fact that he'd taken a liking to old guns. Sue had busted him looking up Civil War guns on eBay, and he'd even checked out a book on old guns from the library.

Dad's birthday was coming up, and I figured that I'd help him get his collection started by finding him either an old gun case or an old gun. I had no idea how hard or expensive it would be, but Sue had promised to help me out.

I walked through the door, pleasantly surprised that the place didn't smell old and musty like the last place to which Sue had dragged me.

"Hi! Welcome to Cullen Antiques!" a cheerful voice said, and I looked across the room to see a tiny woman with spiky black hair.

"Is there anything you're looking for?" she asked, and immediately, Sue began asking her about snuff boxes and vases.

While Sue was being helped, Dad told me he was going to wander around, and I nodded, figuring I'd do the same.

I took off in the opposite direction that Dad had gone and found myself in a small enclave that held four floor-to-ceiling bookshelves full of books. Some of them looked pretty old, and I found myself looking through them.

"Do you need any help?" a warm, masculine voice asked, and I turned around to tell the person that I was fine, but my voice faltered when I saw the person who had asked.

He looked to be about my age, around thirty, and he was gorgeous. Bronze colored hair that was messy, and bright green eyes that peered out at me from behind a pair of black rimmed glasses.

"Oh … um … I was just looking," I managed to blurt out, wincing at how inept I sounded.

"Okay, well just let me know if there's anything you need," he said, and as he walked away, my mind went into perverted overdrive and I thought about all the things he could help me with. Like getting over the dry spell I was in. God, had it really been ten months since I'd had sex?

Shaking my head, I put back the book that I'd pulled off the shelf and went in search of my dad, trying my best to clear my head.

I didn't see Dad anywhere, but I did see Sue in a deep discussion with the woman who'd greeted us, so I decided to go find the hot guy and ask about guns.

"Excuse me," I said as I walked up to the counter the man was standing behind, and he jumped a tiny bit.

He pushed his glasses up before answering me, and I asked if he had any antique guns.

"I don't at the moment, but I'd be glad to search around for you," he said with a smile, and I quickly agreed.

"If you'll just fill this out, I'll contact you when I have something of interest," he told me, and I took the form from his hand and began filling out the information.

"Edward!" the woman with Sue called out. "Do you have any early nineteenth century snuff boxes in the back?"

Edward shook his head. "Sorry, Alice. Maybe I'll find some next week at the auction."

I finished filling out the form and handed it back to him, and I felt a tingle as our fingers brushed. I really needed to get laid if I was getting all tingly over a simple brushing of skin with a stranger.

"Okay, Bella," he said, and I loved the way my name sounded coming from his lips. "I'll give you a call when I have something."

"Thanks, Edward," I said, figuring that was his name since he had responded to it.

I watched as a blush crept up his cheeks.

"You bet," he told me, holding out a hand for me to shake as he thanked me for my business.

The tingly feeling was back, and I was reluctant to let go of his hand as my dad walked up to us.

"I hope Sue's ready soon. I'm starving," he grumbled, and I let out a snicker.

"We just ate. How can you be hungry again? You're as bad as Emmett."

"How is the new partner?" Dad asked as we leaned against the counter, waiting for Sue.

"I like him. He's much better than Marcus. That guy just bitched about everything."

Twenty minutes later, Sue was finally ready, and she walked out of Cullen Antiques with two bags and a box full of … well, stuff. I wasn't sure what all she bought or where she was going to put it. Their house wasn't that big.

As if reading my mind, Dad quietly told me that he was converting his old office into a display room for Sue which I found to be incredibly sweet.

"Yeah, well I don't want snuff boxes all over the place," he muttered, and I just rolled my eyes at him. He tried to play the tough guy, but my dad was a teddy bear at heart.


	2. Chapter 2

EDWARD

"Are you sure this is what you want to do?" my mom asked me for the umpteenth time, and I gave her a smile.

"Yes, Mom. This is what I want. I need a change of pace and scenery, and I've always loved Port Angeles and the surrounding areas. Please don't worry," I told her, and she let out a scoff as she told me it was her job to worry despite the fact that I was a thirty-year-old man.

"Besides, Alice is only a few hours away in Seattle. It's not like I won't know anyone on the west coast."

"I know, dear. I just want you to be happy."

That's all I really wanted as well. Life in the last eight months had been rough for me in my hometown of Chicago, and more than a little unpleasant. I mainly had myself to blame, though, because I'd gone and fallen for the one person I never should have, and she had done her best to ruin not only my business but my life.

I took a deep breath and did my best to clear all thoughts of Tanya from my brain. She'd turned me upside down and had gutted me, and it was best if I just forgot that she had ever existed.

I assured my mother, once again, that moving to the other side of the country was the best thing for me, and a week later, I arrived in Port Angeles, Washington, with my car and a UHaul.

I'd found a three storied building for sale downtown, and it had seemed the ideal place to set up my shop and apartment. Just because I was starting over in a new place didn't mean I couldn't continue to do what I loved, and antiques were my passion.

My shop in Chicago had been one of the largest and most renowned until she had taken that from me. I'd lost a lot of business and a lot of very important clients. I hadn't been blacklisted by the antiquing community, but it had been close, so I figured a store somewhere away from the drama would be a smart idea. Hopefully, the rumor mill in Port Angeles wasn't as noisy as the one in Chicago, and I really hoped no one in the antiquing community out west knew about what had happened.

My little sister, Alice, had been my biggest supporter, and she'd encouraged me to move out west. She and her husband, Jasper, lived in Seattle, and they loved it. However, I was tired of the big city and opted for Port Angeles where our grandfather had lived when we were kids.

Alice had been amazing and had forwarded me listings of buildings for sale in Port Angeles, and I'd fallen in love with the old brick building on the corner. The building that was now going to be my store and my home. I'd had contractors out working on the place, making sure everything was up to code, and I had them create a small apartment on the third floor by adding a few walls and some doors. Alice had called me earlier in the week and had told me the place looked great, and I felt excited for the first time in months. This was definitely what I needed to get my life back on track.

I grinned as I pulled into one of the parking spots behind the building and spotted my sister and her husband, Jasper, waiting for me. Before I could even get out of the car, Alice was at my door, pulling me into a slightly awkward hug which I returned before she allowed me out of the vehicle.

"Hey, Ed," Jasper said in his thick Southern drawl, and I returned the hug he gave me before taking the keys that were in his hand.

Alice was practically bouncing on her toes as I unlocked the door and made my way inside.

"It's perfect," I told her after taking a quick walk-through around the first floor.

"I know!" she squealed, and I let out a laugh.

After a tour of the second floor, I followed Alice and Jasper to a small locked door which when opened, showed a flight of stairs that led to the third floor.

"There's an outside entrance as well," Alice told me as I climbed the stairs behind her. "You'll definitely get your exercise."

I honestly didn't care that I was going to have to climb a bunch of steps, but I knew I'd probably be complaining as soon as we started unpacking my furniture.

The apartment was nicely done, and the construction crew had done an excellent job. It had an open floor plan, for the most part, with closed off rooms for the bathroom and my bedroom. It was just what I needed.

"Well," Alice said. "It's quite a bit smaller than the condo you were living in, but it's not bad."

"I like it," I told her before thanking her, once again, for her awesome job of getting this all done while I was finishing up stuff in Chicago.

"You bet, big brother. I'd do anything for you," she said with a sweet smile, although a few hours later, she had changed her mind.

"Why the hell does all the stuff you own have to be so freaking heavy?" she growled as she struggled to carry a box full of books up the stairs.

Jasper and I rolled our eyes at her grumblings, but I was really thinking the same thing. I couldn't recall having so much stuff being packed into the U-Haul. I swear it had multiplied on the drive across the country.

Three hours into moving me in, Alice left to grab us some lunch, and I wasn't so sure she'd be back. Hell, if I'd been the one to leave, I wasn't sure I would have come back either. I'd forgotten what a pain in the ass it was to move into a new place.

"Here," Alice said some thirty minutes later, tossing Jasper and me fast food bags.

Eagerly, I opened it up and pulled out two burgers and a large fry and began chowing down. I felt like I hadn't eaten ages, and I downed the beer that Jasper passed my way, too.

After lunch, we lazed around for a while before getting back to work. By eight that night, all the furniture was properly placed and all the boxes had been put in the correct rooms, but I still had a bunch of unpacking to do.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay? You can have my bed, and I'll crash on the couch," I suggested because Alice and Jasper had a two and a half hour drive back home, but they both shook their heads.

I thanked them profusely and hugged Alice before walking them to the back door that had stairs leading down to the parking spots behind the building.

Once Alice and Jasper had left, I took a shower, then plopped down on my couch and flipped on the TV. I was incredibly grateful that Jasper had had my Internet and cable turned on, and before long, I found myself falling asleep to a sitcom rerun.  
.................................................

A week after I'd moved to Port Angeles, most of my inventory had arrived, and I'd spent the past five days, putting everything in its proper place so that I would be able to open up first thing on Monday morning.

And by ten am on Monday, I'd had my first customer at Cullen Antiques. Well, I guess I wouldn't really call her a customer since she didn't buy anything, and she spent ten minutes, telling me what was wrong with my displays and decor. Turns out, her name was Shelly Cope, and she owned an antique shop a few miles away.

"Well, good luck to you, Mr. Cullen," she said in a snarky tone before walking out the door, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes at her attitude. I'd dealt with plenty of antique dealers like her, and I wasn't concerned in the slightest. People like her tended to collect whatever junk they could find at yard sales and cheap auctions and then sell them at a marked up price. I had no doubt that her shop was cluttered and overpriced.

I'd learned antiquing at the hands of my grandfather who had been a collector of coins, furniture, and Chinese art. I'd spent years, studying up on different antiques and going to lectures and auctions, and I knew I was good at my job despite what some people back in Chicago might think.

By the end of the first week that I'd been open, I'd had quite a few customers and had made more than a few sales/ Alice was coming down to help me for the weekend since that was when most people did their shopping.

Early Saturday morning, the bell above the door chimed, and I climbed off the step stool I was on only to hear Alice greet my first customers of the day. Knowing that they were in good hands because Alice was a collector of fine things herself, I went back to putting up some of the paintings that I'd acquired.

I looked over a few minutes later as I heard footsteps heading my way, and I saw a petite brunette make her way into the small cove that housed a bunch of books that were for sale. I kept all the super rare books as well as all the rare and valuable items in locked display cases near the front of the building, close to the cash register, and I had security cameras all over the place.

I'd had a nasty break in about six years ago and had lost a ton of valuable inventory, and I'd definitely learned my lesson.

Done with putting up the paintings, I climbed down and off the step ladder and made my way over to the book section.

"Do you need any help?" I asked the brunette, and my heart about stopped when she turned to face me.

She was absolutely stunning with big brown eyes, long brown hair, and the prettiest smile I'd seen in forever. I found myself immediately attracted to her.

She told me that she was just looking around, and I gave her a smile, telling her to come to me if she needed anything.

As I made my way toward the register, I noticed her walking away, and I couldn't stop myself from watching her. She stirred something inside me I hadn't felt in a long time, not to mention that she was extremely well fit and that had other parts of me stirring.

Shaking my head and trying to focus again, I walked over to the counters that held a bunch of business cards I'd had made and began to do some quick inventory.

About five minutes later, a soft voice interrupted me, and I jumped a bit, shoving my glasses up my nose before answering the gorgeous woman in front of me.

She wanted to know if I had any antique guns in stock, and I shook my head as I told her I didn't. Guns were one of those things that I didn't keep in stock because I rarely ever got requests for them.

"I don't at the moment, but I'd be glad to search around for you," I told her with a smile, and she agreed, telling me that would be great.

I handed her a form to fill out so that I could contact her when I found some guns for her, plus I really wanted to know what her name was.

As soon as she was done with the form, she slid it my way, our fingers brushing against one another's, and I knew she'd felt the same spark that I had.

"Okay, Bella," I told her, thinking that her name suited her perfectly. "I'll give you a call when I have something."

Within moments of the small group leaving, Alice skipped over to me with a cheesy grin on her face and a twinkle in her eye.

"No, Alice," I countered before she could even speak.

She let out a huff as she crossed her tiny arms and glared at me.

"You don't even know what I was going to say, big brother."

"Doesn't matter," I told her. "The answer is still no."

Ignoring me, Alice came around the side of the counter and plopped her butt down on one of the stools. She made sure to get all up in my personal bubble, leaning in and blocking the paper in front of me.

"Alice."

"She's pretty," she stated, and I rolled my eyes at her. Since I'd become single, Alice was constantly meddling in my love life. Not that I had one, which, according to her, was the problem. I think Alice wanted me to be as happy as she was, but I wasn't so sure I wanted another relationship anytime soon. I was still feeling raw regarding the whole disaster in Chicago, and Tanya had left me burned.

"Don't you agree?" she asked, and I heaved a sigh.

"Yes, Alice. Bella is very pretty."

Her eyes lit up, and I groaned because I let it slip that I knew the beautiful woman's name.

"Bella, huh? That's fitting. You should become friends with her," she suggested, and I finally tossed the pen that had been in my hand on the counter and turned to look at her.

"What?" she asked. "You need friends."

"I don't have time for friends. Besides, I'm apparently not very good at making the right kind of friends anyway," I muttered somewhat bitterly. Most of the friends I'd had back in Chicago had dropped me like a hot potato once everything had been said and done.

"Those people weren't your friends, but how were you supposed to know that? Hell, I liked quite a few them, and if I'd thought for a second they'd just abandon you, I would've kicked their asses," she growled, and I couldn't help but grin at her. Alice might be tiny, but she was loyal and incredibly fierce.

"Anyway," she said, going back to her original topic, "it wouldn't hurt to make a friend or two. I worry about you being holed up in here day in and day out."

To appease her, I told her I'd attempt to make friends, and I promised I wouldn't hole up in my apartment or my store although I wasn't so sure I was going to keep that promise. I used to be the kind of guy who went out every weekend and was rarely ever at home, but after things in Chicago had gone south, I'd pretty much kept to myself.

Tuesday afternoon around one, I closed the store for lunch and made my way toward a small diner about which one of my customers had told me. It was a small place called Lucy's Diner, and I was told they had the best fried chicken in the state. I didn't know about that, but some fried chicken with a side of coleslaw and a biscuit sounded absolutely delicious.

It was a short walk from my store to the diner, and I realized just how hungry I was when I walked into the diner and smelled all kinds of wonderful food.

"Just have a seat wherever, honey," a throaty voice said, and I nodded my thanks before grabbing a small booth next to a window.

A glass of water was placed in front of me as well as a menu, and the waitress, a woman named Leah, rattled off the specials before asking me what I wanted to drink.

I ordered a Coke and told her that I'd heard their fried chicken was the best around.

"Damn straight it is. Do you want it regular or spicy?"

"Spicy, please."

After Leah left, I pulled out my phone, opened up my Kindle app, and began to read the latest Brad Meltzer novel. After a few minutes, I was completely absorbed in my book when a familiar voice hit my ears.

Looking up from my phone, I spotted the woman who had come into my store a few days earlier. She was sitting at the counter with some huge guy, and as my eyes traveled over her, I noticed that she was carrying a gun and a badge.

The guy beside her noticed me staring and raised an eyebrow at me, and I quickly glanced away and went back to reading my e-book. I definitely didn't want any kind of confrontation with that guy. I mean, I could hold my own in a fight, but I certainly didn't want to fight that guy.

"Oh, hey, Edward," Bella said a few moments later, and I locked my phone as I looked over at her.

"Hi, Bella. How are you?" I asked, noting that the guy was looking between us.

"Good. You?"

I told her I was fine, and then I told her that I was hitting up an estate auction in Seattle in a couple of days and was hoping to find what she'd been looking for.

"That's great! Just call me when you have something," she said, before saying something to the woman with wild red hair behind the counter where she was sitting.

She and the guy she was with, who I assumed was her partner since he had a gun and shield as well, got up and made their way out the door but not before she waved at me.

I waved back just as my waitress set a huge plate of food down in front of me.

"I'd stay away from Bella if I were you," Leah spat. "She likes to ruin people's' relationships."

I was taken aback by the venom in her voice as well as the fact that she'd have the nerve to say something like that to a complete stranger.

"Leah!" a sharp voice called out, and I looked over to see the woman from behind the counter with her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.

"No one asked for your opinion. We all know that you don't like Bella, although Lord knows why. She hasn't done anything to you."

Leah's face darkened, and she shot a hateful glare at the woman before stalking off, and I had to admit, I was a bit curious as to what had caused such a hateful reaction from Leah. Not that it was any of my business.

"Just ignore her, honey," the woman said as she came over my way and introduced herself as Lucy, the owner of the diner.

As I ate, she asked me questions, and although it should have been intrusive, I found myself really liking her. Lucy was definitely a character with her bright red hair, turquoise contacts, and piercings.

"Do you have any vintage signs in that shop of yours?" she asked me, and I nodded. I had quite a few, and I told her to stop by whenever she felt like it, and I'd give her a discount if she bought three or more. In all honestly, I had way more vintage signs than I knew what to do with, and I'd love to get rid of them to make room for some other inventory.

A few hours after lunch, just as I was about to close the shop, the door chimed, and I saw a rather greasy looking man in a suit walk through the door. Something about the man put me on high alert, and I watched him like a hawk as he approached the counter and stared at the locked cases behind it that housed some expensive coins.

"I'm looking for some certain coins, well, really, just one specific coin. I was wondering, by chance, if you happened to have one or a lead on where I could find it," he said with a smarmy smile, and a shiver ran up my spine.

"What are you looking for exactly?"

"A Flowing Hair dollar," he said, and I just stared at him. The Flowing Hair dollar was the first dollar coin issued by the U.S. federal government, minted in 1794 and again in 1795. There were roughly one hundred and thirty of them still around, and the last I heard, one of them sold at auction for over ten million dollars. Why on earth this guy thought a small-time antique dealer like me would have one was beyond me.

"I certainly don't have anything like that," I told him. "The only places you'll find that are either at a large auction house like Sotheby's or by a private seller. Now, if you're looking for something like two-cent pieces from the 19th century or an 1800 draped bust heraldic eagle half dime, then I can help you."

"Are you sure?" he asked, leaning in, and I caught a whiff of garlic and coffee on his breath. It was enough to make me almost gag.

"Believe me, I'd know if I had a Flowing Hair dollar lying around."

The man stared at me, and I stared right back, completely unnerved but refusing to let it show.

"Well, if you find a lead on one, can you give me a call? I'm willing to pay dearly. The name's Demitri Voltaire," he said, taking a business card out of a gold case and setting it down on the counter.

"Sure, but the chances are pretty slim that I'll hear anything," I told him, taking the card. "You might have better luck at a larger store in some place like Seattle."

The man thanked me and walked out of the door, and I felt a sense of relief as soon as he was gone. Something about that guy was off, and it creeped me out that he was in here looking for a coin that a small-time antiquities guy like me would never have, and if he had done any research on that coin, he would have known that.


	3. Chapter 3

Bella

"Swan," I barked into my phone as I stared at the file in front of me. Dad had called us in to help him on a missing persons case almost forty-eight hours ago, and we'd hit nothing but dead ends, and every one of us was feeling frustrated and a bit hopeless.

"Bella? This is Edward Cullen."

"Edward, hi. I'm sorry. I was in the middle of the something," I told him by way of explaining why I'd growled into the phone.

"Oh, is this a bad time?" he asked. "I can call back."

"No, it's fine. Just having a rough day," I told him as I closed the file in front of me and leaned back against the couch.

We'd talked a couple of times on the phone since I saw him at the diner,and I had explained exactly what I was looking for. Dad loved watching Civil War documentaries, so I figured that getting him a gun from that era would really please him.

"I'm sorry to hear that," his warm voice said. "My brother-in-law is a history professor and a Civil War buff, and he got me in contact with some gun sellers. I picked up a few for the shop, so if

you want, you can stop by and look at them."

"I'd love to," I said, and I found myself eager to see him again. It was ridiculous. I was like a teenager with a crush on a member of a boy band. "I can stop by later today if that's okay?"

"Sure. I'm open until six, but I can stay later if that works better for you."

It was my day off, and although I'd spent most of it, working and looking through the missing person's case file, I was due for a break.

I told him I'd be by in about an hour, and after hanging up, I got off the couch and figured I should take a shower before going out.

Twenty minutes later, I was dressed in jeans and a long sleeve Henley, and my long hair was pulled up in a ponytail.

I grabbed my wallet and my keys before getting into my car and taking a drive over to Edward's store. It was only a ten minute drive, at most, to Main Street, and I pulled into a spot in front of the shop.

"It's good to see you again, Bella," Edward said once I'd walked in, and I returned the sentiment.

"Where's your assistant?" I asked him as he led me toward a locked gun case.

"Who?" he asked, looking confused for a moment until realization dawned on him. "Oh, that was my sister, Alice. She's gone back to her job in Seattle. She and her husband were just down here to help me out for the first few days."

"Has my stepmother been back in?" I asked just so I could hear him talk.

He let out a quiet chuckle as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, she's been in a few times. I found some snuff boxes for her at an estate sale last week, so I picked some up for her," he told me as he came to a stop in front of the gun case.

Peering into it, I saw several rifles and handguns, and Edward began to explain to me about them. I could honestly say, I didn't really pay much attention. I was too distracted by his voice and his pretty green eyes, and a small snicker told me I'd been completely busted.

"Sorry," I told him, and he waved away my apology.

"So, I was saying that the 1864 Bridesburg Rifle Musket might be something in which your dad would be interested," he said as he unlocked the case and pulled out the rifle.

It was in pretty decent shape, a few scratches here and there but that was expected. I mean, it was an old gun that had probably seen a lot throughout its years.

"How much is it?" I asked, tracing a finger along the length of it.

"Six fifty," he said, and my eyebrows winged up. Six hundred and fifty dollars was a bit out of my price range although I'd known guys who'd spent thousands of dollars on guns.

"Anything cheaper?"

"You can get replicas for a couple hundred bucks, but if you want the real deal, it's gonna cost a bit more," Edward told me, and I nodded my head. I knew he was right.

"Can I have some time to think about it?" I asked him.

"Of course," he said with a smile. "I do have a few other Civil War pieces that are gun related and a bit cheaper. I've got a pistol bullet mold, a cartridge box, and a handful of bullets."

I took a look at them and ended up buying the bullets and the cartridge box for under a hundred bucks. I had a feeling Edward probably could have gotten more for them from someone else, but I certainly wasn't complaining.

As he finished wrapping up my purchases, his stomach let out a loud rumble that had him blushing and me laughing.

"Want to grab some dinner?" I found myself blurting out, and now it was my turn to blush. It's not that I was a stranger to asking guys out, but I usually did it with a little more finesse.

His eyes widened behind his glasses for a second before he nodded.

"I'd love that, Bella. Just give me a few minutes to lock up."

About fifteen minutes later, Cullen Antiques was locked up and the alarm was set, and Edward and I made our way out front.

"Do you like seafood?" I asked because I'd been craving some shrimp and crab legs. Thankfully, Edward told me that he did.

"Great. I know just the place," I told him, leading him over to my Chevy Malibu.

It wasn't a very long drive to The Waterfront restaurant which was located right next to the city piers.

"Hey, Bella," Heidi, the hostess, greeted when she saw me, but she did a double take when she saw Edward with me.

"Hey, Heidi. Table for two, please. Preferably with a view of the water."

Moments later, we were seated, and Edward began to ask me what the best thing to eat was.

"Everything," I told him with a grin, and he let out a laugh that did things to me. I internally rolled my eyes at myself. I really was acting like a teenage girl, not a thirty-year-old woman.

"That doesn't help me."

"Well, you can't go wrong with crab legs, but the lobster or the Alaskan king salmon are both equally amazing," I told him before warning him that those items were a bit pricier than the shrimp or crab.

After placing our order, a slightly awkward silence surrounded us, and it was killing me. I hated awkward silences.

"So where are you from, and what brought you here?" I asked, wincing at how interrogation-like I sounded.

"I'm from Chicago," he told me, fiddling with his glass of tea. "I lived there my whole life except for when I went to college in Boston."

"As for moving out here," he said after a quiet moment, " I needed a change of scenery and a change of pace. I had a bad breakup which ended up complicating some of my business dealings."

I could tell he was uncomfortable talking about whatever had happened in Chicago, so I let it drop and changed the subject a bit even though I was dying to know what had put that sad look in his eye.

"Have you always wanted to own an antique shop?" I asked him next.

He let out a laugh as he shook his head.

"No. I had always thought I'd be a doctor like my father. Growing up, I spent summers here in Port Angeles with my grandfather, and he'd always take Alice and me to estate sales, flea markets, or auctions. He was a huge collector of all sorts of things, and the man loved to haggle.

"I just loved learning about all the old stuff that he had, and I'd spend hours doing research on an old book or a musical instrument he'd bought somewhere. Soon, it became something I loved to do, so I studied business in college while working at an antique shop, and after I graduated, I knew what I wanted to do. Thankfully, my parents were completely supportive of my decision and they helped me start my business."

"I don't think I could ever own my own business. I don't think I'm disciplined enough," I admitted to him, and he let out a chuckle.

"It's not for everyone, and I had a hard time with that at first. I either overworked and ran myself into the ground, or I took a lot of time off and didn't make any money. Lord knows, I made plenty of mistakes in the beginning."

We continued to talk as we waited for our food, and I learned that his favorite color was blue, that he loved to read, and that he'd always wanted to learn how to surf. I ended up telling him a bit about myself as well until we were interrupted by our waitress, Amber, who did her best to flirt with Edward. She leaned in super close, assaulting him with her strong perfume, as she put his plate in front of him, and I rolled my eyes at her blatant behavior.

She then asked him if she could get him anything else, and he shook his head before informing her that I needed a refill. She let out a huff before snatching my glass off the table, and I raised an eyebrow her. Amber knew better than to mess with me. I'd arrested her ass a couple of times for writing bad checks, and she knew I wasn't someone to fuck with.

Moments later, a large glass of Coke was slammed down in front of me, and I smirked as she stalked off.

"I take it you know her," Edward asked before taking a bite of his salmon.

"She's had a few run-ins with the law," I told him with a smirk.

As we ate our dinner, Edward asked me why I became a cop, and I told him that my dad was a cop and he'd always been my hero. My mother, who had left when I was little, had hated the idea that I wanted to be a police officer, but I loved it. I loved helping people and solving crimes, and I'm not gonna lie, I enjoyed carrying a gun. Not that I really ever used it that. I'd only had to fire it a few times in all my years on the force.

Once dinner was over and we'd each paid for our own meals, we made our way back to my car. I knew that we hadn't been on a date, yet it felt like we had been.

"Have a good night, Bella," Edward said as he opened his door once we were back at his shop. "I had a good time. Maybe we can do it again."

"I'd like that," I told him, and I watched as he walked around the corner. I stayed to make sure that he got inside safely, and I smiled when he waved to me from one of the third floor windows.

Once I was home, I locked my door and made my way to my small bedroom where I changed into my pajamas and tossed my clothes in the hamper.

Before long, I was curled up in my bed with a warm cat beside me, reading a book. It was the best way to end my day. I was really getting into the story I was reading when my phone buzzed.

With a bit of a huff, I marked my place in my book, closed it, and grabbed my phone from the bedside table.

"What's up, Jake?" I asked as I answered. Jacob Black had been my best friend since I was seven and he was five. Our fathers were best friends, and as such, we ended up being best friends as well. We'd actually tried dating when we were in high school, but it had been awkward and weird, and in the end, we had decided that we were much better suited being friends.

"How come I have to hear from Sally who heard from Jeanna who heard from Heidi that you're dating some guy that just moved to town?" he asked, and I about dropped my phone.

"What are you talking about? I'm not dating anyone. At least, not that I know of, and I'm pretty damn sure I'd know if I was dating someone."

"Really, B? Because the way I hear it, you're practically engaged."

I rolled my eyes at his words. "You know better than to trust anything that comes out of Heidi's mouth. I mean, really, Jake. The woman is the worst gossip this side of the Mississippi."

"So, you didn't have a dinner date with some guy?" he asked.

"No. I had dinner with a guy, but it wasn't a date. And why do you care anyway? You don't see me calling and harassing you every time you have dinner with a female companion."

Jake huffed and told me he was just looking out for me, which he'd always done, but it was totally unwarranted. I was a big girl, one who carried a gun, and I was perfectly capable of looking out for myself.

"I appreciate that Jake, but it was no big deal. It was just dinner. I was hungry. Edward was hungry. We went and got food. End of story."

"Who is this Edward?"

I rolled my eyes as I flopped back on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I was in for twenty questions for sure, and knowing Jake, he'd tell my Dad and Sue, and then my dad would grill me. Good Lord, you'd think I'd never eaten dinner in a restaurant with a member of the male species before.

"Edward Cullen. He just moved here from Chicago and owns the new antique store in town," I explained.

"Oh, so he's an older guy?"

"No, he's about our age."

For the next fifteen minutes, Jake hounded me with questions, and I answered them as best as I could just to shut him up.

"Oh my fucking God!" Jake exclaimed. "You really like this guy."

"What? No, I don't. I mean, I like him, and sure, he's a nice guy, but I don't like him the way you mean," I stammered out.

"You do. You totally do. Wow. I haven't heard you like this since you were crushing on that dude back in college."

"Whatever, Jake," I told him before hanging up on his laughing ass.

I so didn't have a crush on Edward. Not really. Okay, maybe a little, but it didn't matter. I doubted the man was even interested in me.  
.....................................................

"Do you have any plans this weekend?" Emmett asked me as we sat at our desks filling out paperwork.

"I never have plans, McCarty," I replied, never looking up from the monitor in front of me.

"Excellent. Then you're free to come over to my place for a barbeque Saturday evening."

"Sure," I told him. I wasn't about to turn down free food, plus it would be interesting to see Rosalie again.

"Do you need me to bring anything?" I asked him, thinking it might be rude to show up empty handed.

He shrugged. "If you want, maybe bring that new boyfriend of yours."

I blinked a couple of times at his words before turning my gaze toward him.

"What?" I asked slowly.

"Your boyfriend, Edwin or Edgar or something like that. Lucy told me about him."

Jesus. I couldn't fucking believe it. This was the sort of shit that happened in tiny towns like Forks, not in Port Angeles.

"He's not my boyfriend," I growled out. "We had dinner. Something that friends, or in our case, business acquaintances do. We're not fucking dating."

That said, I shoved my chair back from my desk and stomped toward the ladies' room. I was livid, and it was all that stupid Heidi's fault. She'd gone and opened her big mouth to some people who apparently didn't know how to keep theirs shut, and now, even Lucy at the diner was telling people I had a boyfriend.

I took a few deep breaths before looking at myself in the mirror above the sink, and yeah, I still looked pissed. I really fucking hated being the subject of some unfounded rumor. It didn't matter that it wasn't a bad rumor. It was still a rumor. I thought I'd gotten away from that shit in college, but apparently, not.

Taking a few more deep breaths, I calmed myself down, and made my way back to the squad room.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Emmett said as I sat back down.

I waved him off.

"Not your fault. I just wish people wouldn't jump to conclusions, but I guess that's one of the perks of small-town life right?" I said with a slight huff.

"I guess so," Emmett said with an apologetic smile. "But you can still come to the barbeque, and you can bring some people with you if you want. I know Rosie's invited some old friends of hers from school."

I did my best not to wince when he said Rosalie had invited some old friends. I had a feeling that meant that Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory would be attending, and if that was the case, then I'd need some support.

"I'll bring my best friend, Jake, if that's cool. He lives on the reservation in La Push."

Emmett told me that was fine, and as soon as I got the chance, I texted Jake and let him know that we were hitting up a barbeque on Saturday night. He got back to me right away, saying that was fine. He wasn't about to turn down a free meal either, but I warned him about bringing up Edward. If I was going to date someone, I would do it on my own terms, and not because the whole fucking town was gossiping about it.


	4. Chapter 4

Edward

"Thanks for coming," I told Millie Banner as she opened the door to leave the store after making another purchase. She had become one of my best customers since I'd opened, and she was a really sweet lady.

"Of course, Edward. You know I'll be back next week to see if you have in anything new," she told me before leaving.

Seconds later, she popped back in to warn me that Shelly Cope was heading my way. I barely held back a groan. Shelly Cope had become the bane of my existence. Every week, she'd stop in for some "friendly" chitchat, but in reality, she was scoping out the store and seeing what I had in stock.

"Hello, Edward," Mrs. Cope, as she insisted I call her, came into the store.

"Mrs. Cope. How are you?" I replied, keeping a watchful eye on her. I wouldn't put it past her to try and slip something in her pocket. I'd seen her trying to do it the week before, and I'd interrupted her; however, if she tried it this time, I was calling the police.

"Fine," she replied curtly as she made her way over to the gun cabinet that I'd had installed after finding some guns that I thought would interest Bella."

"This is new," she commented.

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Hmph," she huffed before moving on.

I followed her around for twenty minutes as she looked at my newly acquired inventory, and I let out a sigh when she finally left. I knew she was trying to compete with me, but I also knew that I could afford more expensive items than she could.

As soon as Mrs. Cope was gone, I closed the shop for my hour-long lunch break and made my way to the diner. It had become routine for me to eat there during the week, and occasionally on the weekends, although I did try to eat at home. The last thing I wanted was to gain a ton of weight, so I needed to find a gym at some point.

"Hi there, handsome!" Lucy sang out as I walked in and took my spot at my usual booth.

"Hi, Lucy," I replied as she came over a few moments later and set a glass of ice tea in front of me.

"How's that girlfriend of yours?" she asked.

"My what?" I asked, thoroughly confused. I didn't have a girlfriend. I had a rather nasty ex-girlfriend, but I didn't have any current ones.

"Your girlfriend. Bella?"

"Um, Bella's not my girlfriend," I told her, knowing that my face was bright red.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought she was. I certainly didn't mean to embarrass you. I swear this is all Heidi's fault. She told me that she'd seated the two of you at The Waterfront restaurant the other night and that you were on a date."

I shook my head as I told her it wasn't a date. I felt really uncomfortable that people seemed so interested in my love life or lack thereof. This is what my mother had warned me about when I'd told her I was moving to Port Angeles. She had said that small towns had rabid rumor mills, and I shouldn't be surprised if I ended up being the attention of one.

"Hmmm. Well, Bella is a really sweet girl, and I think the two of you would make a cute couple. You should ask her out," Lucy said before walking away to attend to another table, and I was left a bit speechless.

By the time Lucy came back around to take my order, I still hadn't even looked at the menu, and I ended up ordering the first thing my eyes fell upon. Fortunately, everything was good here.

As I sat there waiting for my food, my mind was a whirlwind, and I couldn't stop thinking about what Lucy had said. I was definitely attracted Bella, but I was still feeling the burn that Tanya had inflicted upon me. God, just thinking about Tanya set my teeth on edge.

"Here you go, hon," Lucy said, setting a plate with a pulled pork sandwich and fries in front of me.

I nodded my thanks before taking a bite, but I couldn't get Lucy's words out of my head, and I barely tasted my food.

I walked back to my store after I'd paid for my meal, and I was so distracted that I almost walked in front of a car coming down the road. Jumping back, I let out a stream of curses before double checking and crossing the street.

I'd barely been back in the store for more than a few minutes when the phone rang, and I quickly grabbed it.

"Cullen Antiques, this is Edward," I answered.

"Edward, this is Demitri Voltaire. We met a couple of weeks ago," he said, and I felt a shiver race up my spine. My gut was telling me the guy was bad news, and I entertained the idea of having Bella run a background check on him.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Voltaire?"

"I was wondering if you'd heard anything regarding the Flowing Hair dollar. My sources are telling me that there's one being sold by a private seller."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Voltaire, but I haven't heard anything at all. If I do, I'll let you know."

He didn't seem pleased with my answer, and he let out a huff before hanging up the phone. I had a feeling the guy thought I was lying to him, but I wasn't. I truly hadn't heard anything about this coin being put up for sale although he seemed convinced that it was.

I decided to keep my ear to the ground and reach out to the few contacts that I still had in the Chicago area, and I'd reach out to some friends in New York and Boston, too, and see if they'd heard anything. If there really was a Flowing Hair dollar out there, it was going to be a mad dash to see who could get it first, and people in the rare coin collecting world weren't above doing whatever they could to get their hands on it.

With a slight frown on my face, I turned on my computer and ran a Google search on Demitri Voltaire, but I found very little information. All I got was that he worked for a company called Volterra that was based in Italy. Other than that, there was pretty much nothing on the guy.

Hitting a dead end with Voltaire, I googled the Flowing Hair dollar to see if there was any news, and I hit up a few auction forums to which I belonged to. From what I gathered, no one had heard anything, so I sent out a couple of emails, letting some old acquaintances know that I had a client looking to buy.

Done with that, I began to take inventory while the store was slow. It was a task I hated doing, but it needed to be done.

By four that afternoon, I was ready to close up early and call it a day when in walked Bella's father, Chief Swan. I'd met him once before when he'd come in with his wife a while back, and he seemed like a nice guy.

"Good afternoon, Chief," I greeted.

"Hey, son. Listen, I need your help if you've got a minute?"

"Of course."

Chief Swan went on to tell me that his wedding anniversary was coming up, and he knew that his wife had been eyeing some of the more expensive pieces that I had.

I unlocked the cabinet behind me that contained the more expensive snuff boxes and pulled out a few that ranged anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand. I wasn't quite sure what his price range was, so I decided to give him a few choices.

"I have no clue which one she'd like," he muttered as he stared at them.

"I'm sure she'd like whatever it was you bought her," I replied, and he let out a laugh.

"Good answer, son. Tell me the costs of these things."

"Well, the gold and tortoiseshell snuff box is roughly two grand, the silver Scottish snuff box is about seven hundred, and this 1928 leather snuff box is two hundred," I told him before giving him the prices of a few others.

He finally decided on the leather snuff box and since it was an anniversary gift, I gave him a bit of a discount and dropped the price by fifty bucks. I wasn't in the antique business to make money really. I had plenty of that thanks to my great grandfather and the trust fund that I had been given on my twenty-first birthday. I was in the business because I loved the history, the research, the hunt, and making my clients happy.

I finished ringing up Chief Swan's sale and packaged the item carefully before handing it to him, and he thanked me before giving me a look that made me want to squirm.

"I hear that you're dating my daughter," he said, and I shook my head.

"No, sir. That's a rumor that was started by some hostess at the restaurant we went to, I believe. Bella and I are just friends," I told him although I wasn't sure I could even call us that. Yes, we'd had dinner together once, and we'd talked a handful of times regarding her dad's birthday present, but we didn't really know each other well enough to be friends. Although, I wouldn't mind changing that.

Chief Swan nodded his head. "Well, she's a good person. You couldn't ask for a better friend," he told me, and I nodded my head in agreement

After he left, I sagged against the counter. There was nothing worse than dealing with some girl's father who thought you might do his baby girl harm. Not that I would ever hurt Bella. Besides, I was pretty sure she could kick my ass.

Two days after Chief Swan had come into the shop, Bella came in with some huge Native American guy by her side. The guy had to be pushing at least six foot seven, and he seemed to be looking me over, leaving me a bit unnerved.

"Hey, Bella!" I said, giving her a smile and doing my best to pretend her friend wasn't sizing me up.

"Edward! I've decided on that gun you showed me if you still have it," she said, pushing her long brown hair away from her face.

"You bet," I told her, taking the key from my pocket and unlocking the case.

While I was doing that, her friend began looking around, and I felt a sense of relief as he wandered off.

As I rang up her purchase, we made small talk, and I found myself even more attracted to her. She wasn't like the other women I'd dated. Bella was self-assured and tough. She spoke her mind, but she wasn't rude about it.

After Bella and her friend left, I went back to doing some inventory when my phone rang, and I saw that it was Alice.

The first thing she wanted to know was if I was dating, and I rolled my eyes at her even though she couldn't see me.

"No, Alice, and let it go."

"Fine. Oh, Jasper wants to know if you want to hit up some estate sales next week."

"Sure," I told her. Jasper was really into Civil War relics, and he occasionally found things at estate sales, so we'd gone to a few of them together. It certainly made it less boring than when I went by myself.

After I was done talking to Alice, I decided to close the store a half hour early and made my way upstairs to my apartment after locking things up and setting the alarm.

I spent the evening watching cheesy horror films and eating leftover pizza before finally calling it a night.

The next few days were completely uneventful, and I was looking forward to Friday although I had to admit, I was a bit nervous. The old Edward, the one before Tanya, wouldn't have been nervous. He would have been a bit cocky and a bit smug, but the person I was now was more reserved and shy.

At around two in the morning on Thursday, I was abruptly woken up by the sound of glass breaking and an alarm going off.

I practically fell out of my bed in my haste, and I threw on a shirt and a pair of shorts, and shoved my feet into a pair of sneakers before grabbing my cell phone and the baseball bat I kept in the corner near my bedroom door.

As I snuck down the stairs that led to the store, my alarm company called and asked if everything was okay. I told them someone had broken in, so they told me to stay put and that the police were on their way.

I debated for several minutes on whether or not to enter the store, and I let out a curse as I heard things being smashed. I was torn between staying put like I was supposed to or rushing in to save my inventory.

Thankfully, sanity prevailed, and I stayed where I was until I heard sirens right outside. I heard the police announce themselves before they entered, and I finally opened the door and peeked my head out.

"Get back inside," one of the officers hissed at me, and I did as he said, wishing like hell I knew what was going on.

I sat down on the stairs and waited for what seemed like forever. Finally, the police told me I could come out, and I did, to find my store in complete disarray and even the security cameras had been smashed.

"I need to ask you some questions," one of the cops said, and I answered his questions as best as I could while mentally taking inventory.

"Okay, Mr. Cullen. I'll need you to take a look around and tell me what's missing," he said a few minutes later.

As I walked around items that had been tossed on the floor, I found it hard to see if anything was missing, but when we came to the locked display cases up front, I let out a few fucks.

"There was a couple thousand dollars' worth of coins sitting in those cases," I said, "but I keep the very expensive ones in a locked safe in the back."

I led the officer to the back office, grimacing when I noticed that the door had been busted open. I pushed it open the rest of the way and immediately made my way toward my desk which had been completely ransacked. Ignoring the mess, I pulled the chair out and knelt down on the floor, finding the small notch in the wooden floor.

It didn't look like anything had been disturbed, and I was relieved to see the small safe intact underneath the floorboard.

"You keep a safe underneath the floor?" the cop asked.

"Seemed like a good idea," I told him, opening up the safe and seeing my most valuable inventory tucked safely away. "And, it looks like I was right."

It took a couple of hours for the crime scene investigators to gather prints and fibers, take the security tapes, and whatever else they had found. After they had gone, I was left with one hell of a mess to clean up, and I didn't even know where to begin.

I sat down on the stool behind the counter and rested my head in my hands. I'd been through worse, though, in Chicago, so I knew I would get through this. It was just a matter of cleaning up and putting stuff back where it belonged.

I was startled when there was a knock on my door, and I wondered who the hell was knocking on the door at four-thirty in the morning. Getting up, I made my way toward the door and was surprised to see Bella and her partner on the other side.

I motioned for them to come in, noting that I'd need to put up some wood across what was left of my one display window which the burglar had broken.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked, giving me a hug.

"I'm fine," I told her as I returned her hug. "A little shaken up and severely pissed, but physically, I'm fine. What are you doing here, though?"

"We heard the call come in over the radio," Bella told me as she looked around. "Jesus, this place is a mess."

"Yeah, it is," I told her, running a hand through my hair. "Thankfully, not a whole lot was taken, but there's plenty of stuff that's ruined."

"Well, let's start cleaning up," she said, and I stared at her and her partner who was nodding in agreement.

"You don't have to do that," I told her, and she shot me a look that had me shutting up. I was no stranger to that look. Both my mother and my sister had perfected it.

"Got a broom?" the big guy asked, and I nodded.

"Oh, Edward this is Emmett. Emmett this is Edward," Bella said by way of introduction.

I shook the large guy's hand before showing him where I kept the broom and dustpan. While he was gathering those, I grabbed a roll of garbage bags that I kept in a cupboard behind the counter.

"I don't even know where to start," I muttered as I looked at the mess in front of me. Thankfully, only the front half the store had been ransacked.

Bella took the garbage bags from me and placed a gentle hand on my arm and gave it a slight squeeze.

"Let's start here with the counters, and we will work our way around, okay?"

I nodded my head as I grabbed a couple of small boxes that I used for packaging and set them on the back counters before I began picking up jewelry, watches, and coins off the floor. I figured I would sort it all later.

It took us hours to get everything cleaned up and the window boarded, and by the time we were done, the three of us were sweaty messes, and my stomach was growling up a storm.

"Breakfast is on me," I told them as we sat around, relaxing for a few minutes.

"Although, I really need a shower," I said, looking down at myself and realizing I was still in my pajamas.

"Let's meet at Lucy's in an hour," Bella suggested, and we all agreed.

I thanked them profusely and locked the door behind them as they left before running upstairs to take a shower.

I stood in the shower for a long time, just letting the hot water run over me, and I felt myself relaxing and calming down a bit.

Once I was dressed, I plopped down on my couch and just sat there for a while. My mind kept going over what had happened and who would want to break-in. The police had suggested that it was probably kids, but I didn't think so, and I hoped that the security cameras caught a glimpse of whomever it was. The only things that had been taken were coins despite the fact that there was some valuable jewelry right next to them. Someone had been targeting the coins, and that made me think of Demitri Voltaire.


	5. Chapter 5

…..B…..

It was two in the morning, and Emmett and I had just finished wrapping up a case, and we found ourselves starving. We had just grabbed a couple of burgers from a fast food joint when a call came in over the radio. There was a burglary in progress at 1221 Main Street, and the address seemed familiar to me although I couldn't figure out why.

We ate our burgers in the car for the next few minutes, listening to the call out, before it dawned on me why the address was so familiar.

"That's Edward's place!" I gasped, tossing my half eaten burger into the bag. I was ready to race over there, but Emmett stopped me.

"Let the officers on the call out do their job," he said lightly. "We'll stop by after they're done. We'd just be in the way."

I nodded my head, knowing he was right, but my heart was racing. I hoped like hell nothing bad had happened to Edward, but I didn't hear a call for an ambulance over the radio, so I assumed no one was hurt.

Almost two hours later, I was itching to go see Edward, and Emmett had been teasing me ruthlessly.

"You really should invite him over to my place this weekend. The more the merrier," he said with a grin, and I rolled my eyes.

Not too much later, I parked our car in front of Edward's store, and I winced when I saw the damage that had been done to one of the front windows. It had been completely shattered as if a rock or a brick had been thrown through it.

Minutes later, Edward was letting us inside, and I felt awful when I saw the damage that lay before us. It looked like someone had just tossed everything they could find onto the shop's floor, not caring whether they broke things or not. Plus, there was fingerprint dust everywhere. Although from what we'd heard over the radio, the perp had worn gloves.

We offered to help clean-up, and it took us hours to get things reasonably clean. Edward told us he'd sort out his inventory later that day because he was keeping the shop closed until he could get things fixed.

After the place was fairly clean, we agreed to meet at the diner for breakfast, and I couldn't wait to go home and shower but first, I had to drop Emmett off at the station first so he could get his car. I was also in desperate need of sleep, but I was starving as well, so I figured I would sleep after breakfast. Thankfully, Emmett and I had the next two days off.

After a quick shower, I put on a pair of old jeans with holes in them, a soft worn t-shirt that was one of my favorites, and a pair of purple Chucks. I put my hair into a braid, applied a swipe of mascara and a bit of lip gloss, and I was good to go.

I arrived at Lucy's at the same time Emmett did, and I saw Edward through the window, sitting at his usual booth.

"I'm starving!" Emmett boomed as we slid into the booth, and Edward let out a chuckle.

"You and me both."

The nice thing about Lucy's was that you could order anything off the menu at any given time of day, and even though I'd had a burger several hours earlier, I was starving.

Lucy came over not long after we'd taken our seats, and I saw a twinkle in her eye as she glanced at me and then at Edward. I rolled my eyes at her, which caused her to chuckle, before placing my order.

"Thanks again for helping out," Edward said, and we both waved him off.

"No, really. You didn't have to, so thank you. I'm sorry if I ruined any plans that you had."

I let out a small laugh. "I don't usually have too many plans at five in the morning besides sleeping, and I can do that after we eat."

Emmett nodded and said pretty much the same thing.

"Although, my girls will be up by the time I get home, and they'll want to play for a while."

As we sat around talking, we began to talk about the burglary.

"Whoever it was took most of my coins and completely trashed my desk. Obviously, they were looking for something," he told us.

"Who do the cops think it was?" Emmett asked.

Edward shrugged before answering. "They think it was kids, but I don't think so. Kids or drug addicts would have grabbed whatever they could have, but this guy …. he was after coins. I also had a guy come in a while ago asking about an extremely rare coin. I didn't have any clues on the whereabouts of it, but he seemed to think I did. He called me a few days ago, asking about it again. It seems just a bit too coincidental to me."

I set down the glass in my hand and stared at him.

"Did you tell the officers that?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, but they didn't seem to think that was relevant. They're pretty convinced it was just some kids causing trouble," he said quietly, and inwardly, I was seething. There was nothing worse than lazy police work.

"What's the name of the guy calling you?" I asked, pulling a small notebook out of my purse.

"Demitri Voltaire. I can't find much on him except that he works for some Italian company called Volterra."

I told Edward I'd look into the guy and let him know if I found anything else. I'd also be having a talk with the officer in charge of the case.

My mind wandered off a bit, wondering if this guy was some kind of international coin thief, before tuning back into the conversation where Edward was asking Emmett if he had any plans for the weekend.

"I'm having a get together tomorrow night. You should stop by, Edward. We're both new in town, so it can't hurt for us to make some friends, right?" he asked with a grin, and Edward let out a small chuckle.

"Yeah, my sister keeps telling me I need to find some friends, so, your barbeque sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the invite," Edward said.

Emmett got up to use the bathroom, and while he was gone, Edward asked if I had any plans for the evening.

"Probably not. Why what's up?" I asked him, and he mumbled something that had me leaning in closer so I could hear him.

"Want to grab some dinner tonight around seven or so?" he asked, his voice quiet and rushed, and there was a blush creeping up his cheeks.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" I asked him, and by now, his face was incredibly red before he told me to forget about it.

"Edward," I said, putting a hand on his arm. "I'd love to."

By six that evening, I had showered and was digging around in my closet, trying to decide what to wear. I was normally a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, except when it came to work, but I felt I should dress up a bit for my date with Edward.

It took a few minutes, but I found a blue knee-length dress that I could pair with a light sweater since it was still a little cool out.

After picking out my outfit, I blew dry my hair, curled it, and put on some makeup. Done with that, I slipped on the dress, put the sweater on, and grabbed a pair of ballet flats from the closet.

Looking at myself in the full length mirror hanging on the closet door, I had to admit, I didn't look half bad.

At seven on the dot, my doorbell rang, making me jump a bit. I pressed a hand to my stomach to try and settle the butterflies that had suddenly begun fluttering around before opening the door.

Edward looked amazing. He was wearing a dark blazer, a button down shirt, and khakis, and his hair was a delicious mess that I wanted to run my fingers through.

"Wow," he said softly upon seeing me. "You look fantastic, Bella."

I felt my cheeks heat up at his compliment, and I thanked him before telling him how good he looked.

"So where are we headed?" I asked as he held open the car door for me.

"The Pier Steakhouse," he told me, and my eyebrows shot up. The Pier Steakhouse was the most expensive restaurant in Port Angeles. Although, judging by the fact that Edward drove a shiny new Volvo and had a lot of expensive items in his shop, it seemed that he had money.

"I … uh … I've got to admit, I'm out of practice when it comes to dating," he told me quietly once we were in the car, and I looked over at him and smiled.

"I hear you. I haven't been on a date in almost a year," I told him. "And, I haven't dated anyone seriously in almost two years."

"I was with my ex for four years. Our breakup left me a bit bitter, and I haven't been out with anyone since," he said, and I wanted to lean over and place a kiss on his cheek and wipe away the anger I saw in his eyes. She'd done one hell of a number on him, and I felt a fierce sense of protection.

"Well, I'm sure between the two of us, we can fumble our way through this date," I teased with a grin. "After all, you've done a great job wowing me already."

"Yeah?" he asked, shooting a glance my way, and I nodded my head.

We arrived at The Pier Steakhouse fifteen minutes later, and after parking the car, Edward rushed around so he could open my door for me. I couldn't recall the last man that had opened a car door for me, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. The independent part of me wanted to tell him I was capable of opening my own door, but the romantic in me, found it incredibly sweet and very gentlemanly.

"Sorry, it's a habit," he said, almost as if he'd read my mind. "My mother raised me to be a gentleman."

"Well, thank you, sir."

We walked into the restaurant side-by-side, so close that our hands brushed against one another's a couple of times, and I just wanted to reach out and grab his hand.

"Reservation for Cullen," he told the hostess once we were inside, and a few minutes later, we were led to a small, cozy table for two, tucked in a corner.

I did my best not to wince when I saw the prices, but I must have.

"Please don't worry about the cost," Edward said softly. "I can afford to take a beautiful woman out on a date."

"Oh, you're a charmer, aren't you, Edward Cullen?"

His cheeks turned pink at my words, and I let out a small laugh. He was too cute and unlike any man I'd met before. He was genuinely sweet.

Turning my attention back to the menu, I took a good look at it, doing my best to ignore the prices staring up at me.

"Do you know what you want?" Edward asked me after a few minutes.

"I'm thinking steak. Nothing I love more than a juicy piece of meat."

Edward choked on the sip of water that he'd just taken and his face flushed. I wondered for a second what that was about before realizing what I'd said a moment before, and I held back a small snicker that wanted to escape.

"What are you going to get?" I asked,

"Steak as well," he said with a smile.

After we placed our order with the waiter, we ended up playing twenty questions. Sure, we knew a bit about each other already, but now we were learning all kinds of things.

"So you're into sci-fi?" I asked him, eating around the lettuce that was on my plate. I hated the fucking stuff.

"I love it," he said, his eyes sparkling. "I watch shows, movies, read books, and even go to conventions. I guess I'm a bit of a geek."

"I don't mind the occasional sci-fi show," I told him, and he grinned.

"Oh, yeah? Maybe tomorrow we can watch something after Emmett's get together," he suggested. "We should watch some Doctor Who."

"Is that the one with a phone booth?" I asked, knowing very well that it wasn't. Afterall, I'd named my cat after the Doctor's planet.

"It's a police box. Bill and Ted had a phone booth," he said, and I grinned at how heated his voice got.

"I know. I was just teasing. It's the one sci-fi show that I love, and I'd love to come over to your place tomorrow night."

His smile could have lit up the sky.

Our dinner was fabulous, and I had to admit, it was the best steak I'd ever eaten, and I'd eaten a lot of steaks in my life. It was the one thing that my dad was good at grilling besides fish.

"Would you like dessert?" our waiter asked after we'd finished our meal, and both Edward and I shook our heads. I was so full, I wasn't sure I'd even be able to walk out to the car.

After Edward paid for our meal, we made our way to his car. I wasn't quite ready for the night to end, so I suggested we go for a walk along the pier.

I directed Edward to the public parking area a few miles away where we could begin our walk.

"We should hit up the Ediz Hook Reservation during the day when it's a bit warmer," I told him.

"What's that?"

"It's a strip of land that juts out into the Port Angeles Harbor and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It's only a few miles from here," I told him.

"Sounds like a plan. Perhaps, you can show me around this whole town at some point. I haven't really ventured very far from my store," he said sheepishly. "I guess I was just waiting for a good tour guide."

"How about sometime next weekend?" I asked him. "The weather is supposed warm up starting this week."

"I have to look at my schedule," he said, and I couldn't help but feel a sting at his words. That sounded like someone who was trying to blow me off without saying that he wasn't interested.

"Oh. Well, whenever," I said with a shrug, trying to act like it was no big deal.

Edward let out a groan as he stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Bella, I didn't mean that to come out sounding the way it did. I mean it when I say I have to look at my schedule because I know there are a couple of large auctions coming up in Seattle that I need to go to, but I don't remember the dates off the top of my head. If I'm around next weekend, I'd love to hit up the reservation place with you."

"Are you sure?" I asked, still feeling slightly rejected. "I don't want you to feel like you have to spend time with me or anything. I mean, it's not like we're dating."

He moved until he was standing right in front of me. His hands reached out to cup my face, and I looked up into those pretty, green eyes.

"I love spending time with you. It's something that I look forward to, and I can hardly get you off my mind. As for us not dating … well, I certainly wouldn't mind changing that if you are interested. I like you a lot, Bella. More than I've liked anyone in a long time, but it terrifies me."

I stared at him for a moment as his words soaked in. The man had just admitted that he liked me a lot and wanted to date me. Before I even knew what I was doing, I was pressing my lips to his.

One of his hands left my face, and he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer, and I let out a moan when his tongue parted my lips and lightly teased my own.

We lost ourselves in the kiss, and when we finally broke away, I felt a tad light headed. I couldn't recall the last time I'd been kissed with such passion.

"So, I guess you're okay with me wanting to date you?" Edward asked with a teasing grin, and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Well, I don't tend to kiss men that I'm not interested in," I replied. "But yes, to answer your question. I would love to date you."

We kissed a few times more before the wind really began to pick up, the temperature around us growing increasingly chilly. We finally decided to call it a night, and I held Edward's hand as he drove me home. I was reluctant to let go of him when we pulled into my driveway, and I was more than tempted to ask him to spend the night.

"Goodnight, sweet girl," he said, leaning in to place another kiss on my lips that quickly turned heated.

"I'm so tempted to ask you in," I mumbled against his lips before we broke apart, and I watched as that cute blush rose on his cheeks.

"I probably wouldn't say no," he answered honestly. "However, I don't want to ruin things between us by rushing into this relationship."

I nodded in understanding. I'd rushed things in my last couple of relationships, and they obviously hadn't ended well. I desperately wanted things with Edward to work out. It was scary how much I liked him in such a short amount of time of knowing one another.

"Do you want to ride with Jake and me tomorrow to Emmett's?" I asked him as I opened my car door.

"Sure. I'm pretty bad with directions, so that would be great."

"There's this thing called a GPS, you know," I teased, and he let out a laugh.

"I still manage to get lost using it," he admitted, and I couldn't control the giggle that burst out of me.

"How is that even possible?"

"I tune it out and don't pay attention to what the voice is telling me to do."

I couldn't help but laugh at his admission. "We'll pick you up around five, okay?"

He nodded before insisting on walking me to my door. We spent a few more minutes saying goodbye and eventually, he placed one last kiss on my lips.

I locked the front door behind me and leaned against it for a moment thinking about the kisses I'd shared with Edward. The man was dangerous, in a good way, and I just hoped like hell my heart didn't get broken.


End file.
